Gongmen's Scars
by Selene Moonstar
Summary: Everyone has something they need to heal from after the battle with Shen. Not only do they have to pick up the physical pieces of destruction, but they also have to pick up the emotional scars that were caused in Gongmen City. What a panda and a female tiger are about to find out is that sometimes healing is best in someone else's arms. Cover by Wolf-Chalk. T FOR BODILY INJURIES!
1. Thoughts

**Artist's Comments**

Normally, I would save this sort of thing at the _end_ of the fiction, but I think you should know some things _before_ you start reading.

#1. There's a reason why it's **Rated T: blood and gore _will_ be mentioned** \- perhaps some material mentioned too much for the general audiences - if you don't like that sort of thing, or just can't handle it, turn away from this fiction now. I don't need anyone getting nightmares or something because of my writing even though I clearly warned them.

#2. (And more importantly) **this piece was inspired by an art piece done by Wolf-Chalk on Deviantart, also titled _Gongmen's Scars_**. It's because of that artist that all of this is possible.

#3. (In speaking of our beloved Wolf-Chalk, or Elkpelt on Fanfiction) **I have been given permission by the artist responsible for the inspiration of _Gongmen's Scars_ to use the respective artwork as the cover of this fiction.** If you don't believe me, take it up with the artist - I have the notes to prove it.

So now, ladies and gentlemen, now that I have warned you, you must decide for yourselves to continue reading or not.

 **You have been warned** , which is all I can really do.

By continuing to scroll, **you are assuming the risks** of reading this T-Rated fiction.

So now, without further ado, _Gongmen's Scars_!

* * *

They say that when you defeat the enemy, it was supposed to be okay.

Allow this matter to be cleared up: it was just a rumor. How did it start? No one knows, but it was obvious that it started with someone who had lips that spoke ignorance of the harsh realities of battles that contributed to war. Every word was a dream that was spread by ignorance and to comfort those who never tasted war, or perhaps conflict that was never properly solved altogether.

This sort of ignorance could have been a good thing if war was never needed. If everyone was in this ignorant bliss that once the physical enemy was defeated when the fight had a winner, then war wouldn't be needed in the first place, for common sense told them that it would be better to never fight in the first place.

Perhaps in a world that would never need war to solve their problems, things would be better off for the souls of others. However, these people didn't live in that world, especially two specific souls that were suffering right now.

If no one needed to fight, then these two specific souls wouldn't be in the predicament that they were in right now. However, in their world, war was something that was referred to as a 'necessary evil' concerning them. As much as it pained them now, without war, they would have never met, and missed out on a friendship they now knew they didn't want to live without.

Even if they _did_ met, perhaps under different circumstances, it wouldn't be the same. Perhaps they would pass each other by if they were in a different situation, but life forced them together, and although they never said it verbally, or accepted it at first, they were grateful for the other. War was that one thing that brought them together, yet tore them up all at the same time. It was the fire that burned out the impurities of their relationship and brought them together, even to the degree of keeping them together when they were stubborn, yet the burns of war were not merciful concerning scars. It was the one thing that was responsible for their relationship to happen, but also the very thing they wished never existed.

Maybe later on in life, in an age that war was less unlikely, they could work things out better, but weither or not it will come in _their_ lifetime was something that they didn't know, or perhaps will ever know.

The only thing that was certain right now was the scars after the battle - the ruble left behind after a horrible storm, or the blood that stuck to the wound after it stopped bleeding.

When the mighty Lord Shen had fallen to his death (ironically by his own weapon), there was the aftermath to consider because even though the enemy was gone, the wounds he left behind were not. For example, Master Croc had a few missing scales that were going to need time to regenerate, and his arm wasn't going to be working for at least a few weeks. Master Ox had a few cracked bones in his body, and one of the mighty wings that belonged to one of the legendary members of the Furious Five, Master Crane, had been fractured again for the second time in this whole war. No one could blame another for being in this much pain - after all, it were these same wounds that were caused by the same canon that took out the legendary Master Thundering Rhino just a short time before. It was the fall of this master that destroyed the spirits of his students, and would have remained so if it had not been for Master Shifu to intervene and bring them back up again to help the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five take down the same peacock that murdered their master.

From the fallen guards to Master Rhino himself - it had been agreed upon that one large funeral would be held in commemoration of them all. At first, it seemed rather strange to try to get the names of everyone who had fallen that day, but it had been so strongly suggested, primarily by Po, that they _did_ agree upon to make the memorial site in Gongmen City that had fallen on the account of Lord Shen.

The hammer that had belonged to Master Rhino had not been moved from the place Po and the others saw it at when they had been captured, but it _had_ been cleaned up and the floor around it had been repaired. One large brick in front of it had the name of Master Rhino on it, and if one were to walk a little further to the building that been previously been destroyed, there was a statue of the same master. To remember everyone else that had fallen that day, every brick that was put on the path from the hammer to the statue had a name of one of the victims who had died because of the tyrannical peacock, some peasants, and some were just guards that had fallen to the metal feathers of Shen, but they were still all in the effort to be remembered for what had been done.

It was the building of this place that the first effects of scars started to come through, primarily through a certain panda. However, in this particular case, it actually involved _physical_ scars.

Po had been so persistent in this idea in memory of Master Rhino, that he had even promised that he would do the same thing everyone else was concerning its construction. His dedication to building this memorial site lead everyone to pitch in, from scribes to getting all the names from all of the relatives of all the people that died to just using their strength to move the materials to make the site in the first place. From peasants to even the most honored of masters in Gongmen City, it was not only an inspiration, but a healing point, for there were only two others that were just as persistent as Po was concerning this matter, and that was Master Croc and Ox, for they were close to their fallen friend, and believed that by doing this, their would be some level of closure and move on.

However, there were some things that were not closed, and it started coming through during the project.

Po had taken a minute to sit down, looking at all of the others that were continuing to go about the business of the memorial - a pig here making sure the cement was perfect, and a duck near him to carefully inscribe another name that was on a list in the wings of another duck. There were a few others near them, likely family, to see the name of their lost one being put into the stone to be remembered.

The panda allowed himself a minute to smile, but only because he was happy for the family that their fallen loved one would be remembered. If it were up to him, he would have wanted to prevent anyone from being killed altogether, but of all the things he wished he was, he wasn't perfect.

Within a short amount of time, Po's thoughts of family began to slowly lead him to frown, turning his jade eyes to the ground that they were constructing on, his thoughts leading him to things that made him have questions, such as the memory of his mother, what she might have been like, or what her name might have been.

The more he played that memory in his head, the more he didn't realize that he was crying until the first tear hit the ground.

When he saw the tear, and registered in his mind that his vision was blurry, shutting his eyes tightly and began to rub whatever tears that might still be left on his face away, mumbling incoherent words about gaining composure and that he didn't need to worry about that.

What Po had failed to remember was that the wounds he got from the canon had not yet healed, sending a jolt of pain through his ribs and halting his actions. His breath hitched a little as the pain went through him, biting his lip so as to not let out a scream and make everyone worry. He thought that after waking up from the blast, he would be okay, but maybe there were some things that still needed to heal.

He couldn't think about that now - at least he _thought_ he didn't.

"Hello, Po."

Looking up after rubbing his rib-cage, he took notice of the one who had greeted him. It was none other than Tigress, giving one of her more calm smiles with two cups of tea and a small platter of dumplings.

"Hey," he said with a smile, "I'm just resting a minute, I need a breather."

"I understand," she said as she sat down next to him, handing him a cup, "Here, it will help."

His smile becoming a little bigger, Po gladly accepted the gesture from Tigress and lost little time into taking in the contents of the cup slowly - fast enough for his pace, but not _so_ fast that he couldn't enjoy the tea or its warmth. The newfound heat in his belly brought his smile to a more relaxed pace, Po sighing with relief as Tigress smiled at him.

"I take it that you needed that more than I thought," she said in-a-matter-of-fact tone.

"Yeah, I did," Po reassured her, "Thanks for bringing it over."

"Do you want any dumplings?"

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry."

As Po took another sip of the tea, the smile that Tigress had was gone, looking over her friend as she debated with herself if she was just overthinking it, or if what she was thinking about him was actually true. Tigress rarely enjoyed assumptions, and the assumption she had now was far beyond any pleasurable thought. When Po _wasn't_ hungry, it usually indicated one or two things: one, that there was something on Po's mind; or two, he was really _really_ sick.

Neither likely outcome sounded good to Tigress, and Po didn't catch onto what Tigress might have been thinking until after a long pause of looking at the ground. When Tigress caught the sadness in his eyes, she had a strong hunch that it had to be that there was something mentally bothering Po.

The panda didn't catch that his feline friend was looking at him until after things became too quiet between them, compelling him to look up at her.

"What?"

"Are you alright?"

He sighed - leave it up to Tigress to be able to read him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Po said, referring to his physical state since he didn't think the rib pain was going to be a big deal, "I'm just thinking about something..."

"What are you thinking about?" Tigress asked, "Very few things would compel you _not_ to eat..."

Of course... the fact he rejected dumplings was a clear indication that he was at least upset. Ironically, if he was really upset, he would eat a _lot_ , but there were a few times he wouldn't eat his problems away because he knew it wouldn't do any good. Thinking about his mother was such a thing.

"I'm... just thinking about everything that's happened..."

"Po, it was Shen's decision in the end not to change."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course... but that's not what is getting to me..."

"Then what is?"

He looked at her for a moment before looking back down at the ground.

"...Do you remember when I was shot by that canon?"

How could she _not_ forget? She told him to stay in the prison because she knew that his head wasn't in the mission. Normally, she would trust him with her back if he was focused, but she knew he wasn't, and that's what she thought killed him.

She cringed a little at the thought, but Po wasn't even looking, so she allowed herself to do so.

"Of course I do..."

"Well, the Soothsayer found me and patched me up... in the same place where I was born."

Her eyes widened a little - his home village was _that_ close?

"While I was there... I... began to remember what had happened to me, and how I ended up with my dad."

Carefully, she placed the plate down, no longer interested in drinking tea since what Po had been talking about had long since indicated that it was serious, and chose to give him her undivided attention.

"I even saw the face of my mother before she put me in the radish basket."

Po's face cringed, as if to fight off the sadness, and it broke Tigress' heart that he was even trying to do so.

"I think the reason why all of this is bugging me is because I don't even know her name, much less what she was like, what she enjoyed doing, or if she would have been proud of me as a son."

"Po."

The moment his name left her lips, her paw was on his shoulder, winning his attention back.

"I don't know what your mother was like, but she must have been an incredible woman for doing what she did to save you," Tigress said, "And if it were me, it would have broken my heart to have to let go of my son, but I would also understand that it was necessary in order to save him..."

"Tigress..."

"...I don't know why you're doubting yourself all of a sudden," she said as she put one paw on each of his shoulders, "But even though I never gave you the warmest greeting when you were chosen as the Dragon Warrior, I now see that I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. You're my _friend_ , Po, and your mother would be crazy to _not_ be proud of you... because..."

Both the panda and the female tiger blushed hard as the next words left her mouth.

"...because I know that _I_ am proud of you..."

For a minute, Po needed that much to sink in the information. At first, a warm feeling began to beat across his chest, but the more it came into touch with his head, the more tears that started to form in his eyes. When the tears began to form, Tigress was worried that she may have said something out of line, but held her ground until she was certain that she had told him really was offensive.

There was no reason for it to be, nor any logical reason for it to be so - she just told him the truth.

When he started shaking, she started to _really_ worry, and her heart missed a beat when he leaned his head a little, taking Tigress' paw from his shoulder and onto his cheek, perhaps for self-comfort, but just before Tigress could think of anything to say, he spoke.

"Y-You're right..." Po said, his voice still too shaky for Tigress' comfort, "My mom _would_ be proud of me... but I guess that now because I have a face to the name, I wish I could hear her say that. When I began to remember and have inner peace, I felt closure in who I was... but I don't think I have closure with people who helped me get here... and never be able to meet..."

So _that's_ what was bothering him. The fact he was here making this memorial probably hurt him even more. Then again, what probably hurt the most was the thoughts of how selfish he thought he was being right now, when Tigress knew that these feelings were normal. Ironically, it was this very thing she learned from Po.

To have been so close to someone, yet so far - Tigress could relate to that, but refused to talk about it.

She wanted to have the right words on the tip of her tongue right now, but nothing came up. Tigress wanted to tell him something that would at least help, but she couldn't think of anything - she only felt pity for the panda who came to realize what he had lost.

What made her worry even more was when Po lifted her paw away from his cheek to give them their respective space, looking worse than before, and trying to hide it behind one of his stupid smiles.

"Sorry," he said, putting the cup down and carefully taking Tigress' paw into his own again to hold them a little more tightly for a minute in the name of reassurance, "W-we've got to get back to work, so let's help the others before they start to worry, okay?"

Tigress didn't like it when Po brushed off his feelings like that - they would only accumulate.

However, what _did_ reach its full measure was what had happened after he released her paw (after a light squeeze for reassurance) and began the very thing that made her loose all the reassurance he tried giving to her just a few seconds ago. By bending down a little and getting up too fast, the force of it all did a number on his cracked rib, which not only sent a wave of pain through him, but broke the rib again. The work it took to heal it had all been in vain as a blood-curling yell of inexpiable pain went through him.

Of all the attention he had won within that very second, Tigress was the closest, and lost no time going over to Po in a swift second as his body lunged forward. If she had not caught him, his face would be planted on the hard ground, but none of that mattered to Po since the pain in his side hurt so much.

"Po!"

Using one arm to catch him, she leaned him forward so that they were both on their knees and at eye level. As Tigress looked him over, she caught sight of his paws on the very rib that was causing him pain in the first place, guessing _that_ was the source of his predicament.

"Po, are you alright?"

An obvious question, but it she asked it because she needed to know if Po was focused or not. Due to his lack of response, it was obvious that he was anything _but_ focused. After all, not only did Po not answer and started to lean forward, but a glaze started to come over his jade eyes that made Tigress' heart skip a beat a second time in one day.

"Po! Answer me, please! Pull yourself together!"

There was a light ringing in his ears, but he wasn't sure where that was coming from. The fact that Tigress was using the word please would have told him that he practically made her terrified of the situation if his mind wasn't fading in and out from the pain.

"Oh my gosh! Is he okay?!"

That _might_ have been Crane - sure _sounded_ like him though.

"Someone, get a doctor, _now_!"

Po was certain that _that_ was Tigress - since she was growling in that order, it only amplified her plea.

He was also pretty sure he felt one of his paws against a warm, yet slightly wet, cheek.

It wasn't like her to cry, much less her voice come down to such a broken state as the darkness slowly took him.

"Don't worry, Po, you'll be alright, just stay with me, okay?  
Okay? Po?  
Po!"


	2. Pain

Everything was incoherent after that.

Buzzing here, a few familiar voices here, and maybe groups of colors together that seemed to give away familiar figures, but nothing made complete sense when he closed his eyes.

If there was anything that made any remote sense, it was the fact that it was all too much, at least the pain was. Then again, he had been in pain for a while, so there was nothing new about that. Perhaps the aspect that was remotely new was the idea of all the pain finally catching up to him, and not in a good way either.

Then again, since when was pain ever good? Isn't that what pain _was_ \- to emphasize to the body that it was _bad_?

He had tried to hide it for sometime now, since his thoughts were more about the feelings of others than himself, but even the Dragon Warrior had a limit. Po came to the conclusion that he had just met his in a way he really had hoped to avoid.

Then again, there he was, on the bed and only coming to realize that he was there on the account of the rays of light in the room.

Everything was a lot more quiet than he remembered, or perhaps it was the ringing in his ears - it was still a relief on the account of the headache that he realized was there.

He groaned on the account of his pain and the fact that it had been exposed. He was hoping to deal with it later, but since his body refused otherwise, Po guessed it couldn't be ignored.

"Po?"

The voice was gentle, but he recognized it anyway: it was Tigress.

"Hey," Po said gently, putting his paw onto his face, which hadn't quite accepted the light yet.

That's right - Tigress was there when he passed out.

"Are you alright?"

"No."

Po really didn't expect her to do this, but after a short moment of silence, Tigress reached for his paw that was covering his face so she could have eye contact with her friend.

"Where does it hurt?"

She _needed_ to look into his eyes - not out of sentimental value, but to make sure he wasn't lying to her.

"Just my lower rib," Po admitted, remembering all too well what had happened prior to all of this when he tried to keep secrets from her before, "I think it broke again, but I'm not sure."

Although he didn't feel completely there, he understood why Tigress raised both of her paws to him: to tell him without words what she was about to do. True, she couldn't feel anything in her paws, but that didn't mean she didn't have enough control over her own strength to _not_ be gentle. She had silently warned Po that she was going to check his wound (actually, check it again since it had been looked over in his mental absence), but she wanted him to be aware of it before she did so.

The hiss of pain that came from the panda was all she needed to hear.

She knew that while he was passed out, he had a broken rib, but she had asked anyway for something else altogether - it was a matter of trust and to see how he was coming along. Aside from that, there was only one other thing she came here for, and that was out of an order from Master Shifu.

"Just stay still," she ordered gently, "I'm going to patch up your rib again, okay?"

The panda only nodded.

As she lifted his head and heard another grunt, she figured that because Po had ignored his own injury, it not only wasn't healing properly in the first place, but he was already in a pretty weak state.

After all, he was shot by a _canon_ , with nothing to protect him but a pot that was designed for cooking, not battle.

She closed her eyes for a minute, pushing down the memory of the ordeal and her feelings about the matter before she was able to get Po to sit up (or perhaps before her emotions dominated her ability to control them - something neither of them needed), taking the wrappings beside her to begin her work of carefully putting the white strips around the panda's torso.

Tigress also didn't want to tell him that his rib had snapped _outside_ of his body before piercing his lung. She was in here to patch up his wounds a second time because the first wrappings already had their fair share of blood. Her senses were keen, which in this present case was something she loathed - it reminded her of what had just happened and other things that kept flashing in the back of her mind. She did her best to follow through them, though.

He didn't argue - if he did, she would have given it to him. Then again, it's not like he _wanted_ to argue with her - he was too busy trying to calm his heart that was just beating way too fast. To make it worse, the one responsible for it was so close that she could practically hear his heartbeat, which made the situation all the more embarrassing.

"Po," Tigress said flatly, "You can breathe around me."

He sighed, unaware that he had stopped breathing in the first place.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm... just thinking."

"About what?"

"This rib... will I be able to help you guys with the memorial?"

"I wouldn't count on it, but you shouldn't worry about that anymore. You've inspired so many people already that it will be finished within a few days."

"But I want to _help_ , Tigress."

"Then 'help' by putting our minds at ease with your condition. I don't think any one of us would want you getting hurt trying to remember a master. Besides, it would make the people feel worse than they actually are if something happened to you while you were being reckless in making this monument.  
They have their family to mourn - don't make it worse for them by trying to hide your injuries."

Po frowned and looked away as Tigress carefully put the final knot in her work, looking at Po for a minute before turning his head back to her in a gentle manner, her paw not leaving his face as they looked eye to eye.

"You already scared me once when you refused to stay put in Gongmen Jail - please don't do it again."

His eyes widened on the account of her remark. Did she really say that she was scared for him? He was the Dragon Warrior - of course he could take care of himself. Then again, Po knew why Tigress practically forced him to stay there - she knew his head would not be focused on the mission, but to learn more about his past. If it were Tigress, perhaps she would feel the same way too - that's exactly why the hardcore _did_ understand.

It was those same feelings that she knew would get Po killed, and feelings of her own rang true when she said she couldn't see him get killed.

After all, she said _please_ \- a word she didn't even use then, but she still meant her words.

Looking down for a minute, Tigress removed her paw from Po's face, closing her eyes as she got up.

"Stay put," she practically ordered, "I'll go tell Shifu you're awake and I'll make you some tea for the pain."

Po couldn't take his eyes off of the tiger master as she made her way towards the tent's entrance. Before she opened the one way out, she stopped for a second to look at Po, giving him a gentle smile.

"Oh, and by the way... I know you want to follow your heart, Po," Tigress said, "But try to think about the hearts of others this time, okay?"

Without another word to the panda master, Tigress took her leave, leaving the panda master both surprised and confused.

He really wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Now that she was gone, there was no point saying it.

With a heavy sigh, he laid back down, looking up at the ceiling of the tent before another groan left his lips.

"Ouch..."

* * *

 **Artist's Comments**

Yup, it was bad... perhaps rather graphic...

Don't worry, I'm not going to torture Po like that anymore - at least with this fiction.

Well, maybe not physically.

You'll have to see what I mean when you get to the next chapter.


	3. Promise

Without the Dragon Warrior, the Valley of Peace and Gongmen City were able to complete the monument of the fallen and Master Rhino.

Yes, Po was able to heal from some of his broken rib that had knocked him out, but now that Shifu was aware of his predicament, he had made it clear to the panda that he wasn't to go anywhere alone until it was certain that his rib was completely healed. It was still cracked, but with Po, Shifu really didn't want to take any chances, like last time.

It surprised everyone, even Po, that it was Tigress who immediately took it upon herself to be his chaperon.

Many who witnessed it thought it had to do something with the hug Po had given her sometime back. Then again, if your friend was practically shot by a canon and partially awake sometime later before the final fight, why wouldn't you hug them when you knew they were alright? Sure, it surprised Tigress, but Po meant that hug - he was too darn happy to see that Tigress was okay to put it into words.

Maybe Tigress felt the same way.

Although it wasn't easy, Po was able to convince Master Shifu that as long as he was with Tigress, he could attend the funeral. He cared about the fallen master and those involved, but he had taken Tigress' advice about caring about the hearts of others, or he wouldn't have strongly depended on Tigress that day. In a sense, he was considerate of everyone's feelings and his current physical condition, but he also wanted to be there for the people who had lost loves ones to Lord Shen.

Now that he had his memory back, he understood the feeling, except he was alone in his thoughts about the matter, and couldn't bear to see anyone else go through the same thing the same way if he was there to prevent it. Po didn't have anyone to comfort him when he lost his mother except the presence for forgetting her. Now that he remembered, it just wasn't the same.

Everyone was grateful that he had these feelings, but they were just as grateful being careful. In fact, it was because he had attended is how some people were able to cope with their lost loved ones - that someone with such high honor as the Dragon Warrior cared about them so much.

It was as if you didn't need to know the person to understand what they were going through.

Then again, when it came to Tigress, it was a relief that Po knew her, or he would have been more worried about her than he was now.

Ever since his little incident in the building of the memorial, Tigress seemed more careful about Po, as if something about that moment woke up something in Tigress, and it bugged him. If he had the guts to ask her directly about it, maybe he wouldn't be left in his current state of puzzlement.

Then again, the funeral woke something up inside of _him_ to - the harsh realities of what the fallen loved ones were getting that Po knew his mother _never_ got, and that was a proper funeral.

Heck, now that he thought about it - he realized that he didn't know her. In fact, he would probably _never_ get to know her, such as the nit-picky things a son wanted to know about his mother, such as what she was like, what kind of interests he got from her, and, more importantly, what she looked like. Yes, Po got a vision of her while he was obtaining inner peace, but it wasn't the same thing,

He was okay with _himself_ , but he _wasn't_ okay with what happened to the people that brought him to this point.

Po never got to cry over his mother - now that he had a face to the name, it only made it seem more real.

Thus, whenever he was away from everyone, even Tigress, he would silently lay in his bed and cry. Food wouldn't do it anymore - he tried that already. The feeling of a belly full of noodles couldn't satisfy the need to mourn over a dead mother, much less knowing that he will never be able to know what it feels like to have a mother's touch.

While they were in the brackets, when everyone was asleep, his jade eyes would be wide open, biting his paw to stifle his sniffling as the tears kept pouring from his eyes.

There were other things he sobbed over because of the past predicament, but the loss of his mother was a prime factor.

He thought that with the time off he had from training (given to him by Master Shifu so he will have a bit more time to rest before being checked over by Mei Ling to confirm that he would be ready to train again) he could let all of the pain out and be ready by then. However, the harder and longer he cried, the worse it felt, and he wished that the pain would leave, but it didn't. Po was pretty good at being able to hide it from his friends when he cooked, but didn't hide any bit of it from himself when it came to the silent moments he had in his room.

Po didn't want to admit it (after all, he _was_ the Dragon Warrior), but he later came to realize what was missing during his mourning, something that he had when he was mourning over Master Rhino and the unknown fallen, and that was someone's touch.

He remembered every once in a while how Tigress would give him a comforting touch on his shoulder, or even a light hug during the funeral. When Po _really_ let it all out, everyone had even encircled around the panda in a large group hug. Heck, even Master Shifu was able to put his pride aside to join in, which groups of families did the same thing to each other to comfort those close to the loss. Even Master Croc and Ox joined in their large group hug. Heck, they were the second and third to hug Po, even though Tigress beat them to being the first. It was incredible that one who wasn't even close to Rhino was sobbing more than they were, but Croc and Ox laid their pride aside and showered the ground with their tears from the loss of their friend.

The panda _did_ get the hiccups later from crying so hard, but all of this wasn't enough. He didn't want to admit it at the time, and that had not changed since then, but Po had scars that had not healed yet. Po really wanted to consult someone, _anyone_ who might be willing to give their shoulder and help him through this time of mourning. He was surprised that he even _had_ any tears left from Rhino's funeral, but no, he had _more_ tears than what he could swallow back.

It took him a while to admit it, and even longer for him to accept what he needed, but he still couldn't place a face to who might be able to pull him through this until one fateful night.

As the image of Tigress passed through his mind, he realized that what he needed was the very thing that Tigress had been doing all along since the defeat of Tai-Lung. Talking to him and training when they were on the boat to Gongmen City the first time, practically kicking his chubby tail down when she ordered him to stay in Gongmen Jail, and even pushing Po out of the way of the canon a second time when she couldn't stop the first.

In a twisted sense, Po realized he needed Tigress.

Getting up from his bed and groaning on the account of his headache (obviously dehydrated), he made his way in the hall of the brackets, which had been refurbished and reinforced so that it not only looked new (which it technically was), but so that it could handle Po's weight and not squeak in the process. This made Po's steps far more quiet than before, which was a relief to the others since Po was known to stay up late to clean the dishes and get up early to make them dirty again by making breakfast for everyone.

At first, he thought that what he was doing was really selfish, but with every step he took in doubt, he took another in faith because of the words Tigress said to him not too long ago.

 _"You already scared me once when you refused to stay put in Gongmen Jail - please don't do it again."_

When _that_ didn't work, he began to think of something else that Tigress had also said.

 _"I know you want to follow your heart, Po, but try to think about the hearts of others this time, okay?"_

He was only following his heart because he knew that eventually Tigress was going to catch on, so hiding it, especially from her, was eventually going to be a waste of time.

Besides, he needed this - he needed _her_.

It was strange being in front of someone's door in the middle of the night, but Po knew that he had to do this. He breathed in deeply, sighing before tapping on the paper door that belonged to Tigress.

"Ti-"

The thing that immediately got his attention was that the door opened. Normally, her door was locked, so either she was expecting him or she wasn't there. Holding his breath, he did something he thought he wouldn't do, and that was peak into her room.

However, one look was an indication that he wasn't even in her room.

Keeping a hold on his breath, he made his way down the brackets and out of the building, checking each possible room before doing so. The more rooms that didn't contain Tigress, the more worried he became.

All of his sorrow was on the back burner now - he had to find Tigress.

As he made his way outside, his head snapped up to the peach tree, specifically The Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. He wasn't so sure about why he did it, but he was glad that he did, because relief washed over him when he saw Tigress.

She was sitting, and he couldn't see much of her head since it was resting on her knees, but there she was.

Without a second thought, Po began making his way to the peach tree, deciding that using awesome flips and soaring through the sky wasn't a good idea. If he landed wrong (again), he would increase the likelihood of breaking his rib all over again, and maybe even more.

Tigress would likely even give him _more_ injuries if she found out that he pulled that stunt - even if it _was_ to look for her.

However, any physical injury was more bearable than what Po saw when he finally reached Tigress.

She was probably lost in her own sadness when he approached her, because he figured that she would have been able to detect him from a mile away. However, she hadn't even so much as perk up her ears, for they were flat against her head as his own ears picked up a sniffle that wasn't his own.

Tigress had been _crying_ , and he was blind to it until now.

It broke his heart more ways than one to see her like that.

He wasn't even sure if he should have said what he had said, but one thing was clear: he was wrong about Tigress not being able to feel anything. True, she couldn't feel anything in her _paws_ , but one look right then and there told him that she was just as prone as wounds to the _heart_ as he was.

"Tigress?"

One word and the feline had snapped her head to the Dragon Warrior, getting up immediately and wiping away any tears that were left on her face.

"P-Po," she stammered, trying to regain as much of her usual composure as possible, "W-What are you doing out here?"

She was trying to turn this on him, but it wasn't going to work - Po had seen enough to confirm to him that Tigress was in pain, and the sadness that was once dominant in his body was replaced with a whole new emotion altogether.

Tigress noticed this, and the worry of being caught (rubbing her arm while she was doing so) changed to concern for the panda before her, her ears perking up as she realized that he was sniffling a little, his eyes welling up with tears and something like guilt taking the dominant emotion in his eyes.

"Po...?" she asked, her paw leaving her arm as she took a step closer to him, "What's wrong...?"

What he said next threw her off guard even more, for what little guard she had up in the first place.

"I... I've been so _selfish_..."

"Selfish?" Tigress repeated, wondering where in the world Po was getting such an idea from.

She started to panic a little and made less space between them as Po covered his face with his paws, but his voice pretty clear as he poured out his emotions.

"Y-Yeah... _selfish_ ," Po repeated, saying the final word as if it was curse on his lips, "I... I had been so _selfish_ and _stupid_ and preoccupied with _my_ feelings and how _I_ was feeling that I didn't even consider the thought that _you_ might be suffering...  
M-man... T-Tigress... I-I'm sorry... I'm so _sorry_."

Any excessive space between them was gone now, Po so shaken up that he had to sit down, and Tigress going over to him to place her paws on his shoulders.

Tigress' eyes began to form tears again, mixed with reasons of the past and now, but her focus was on Po.

"Sorry for _what_?" Tigress stressed, trying to pry at her friend's mind, since more than half of the junk he was saying made no sense.

"That I didn't see how much pain _you_ were going through," Po repeated, "And yet you've always been there for _me_ when _I_ needed help. Why can't I do the same for _you_?"

Well, it wasn't _always_ , but Tigress knew what Po meant. In fact, she didn't expect anything from Po except to do his best at what he loved the most. If she knew that Po wanted her to rely on him as much as he relied on her, then she would have probably put enough of her pride aside to ask for his shoulder. Then again, she didn't have a shoulder - that's why she was _here_.

At least she _thought_ she didn't have a shoulder, and that shoulder was pretty distraught right now.

Sitting down to get as close to eye-level with him as possible, she looked him over before choosing her words - carefully.

"Po," she said, "I know you're worried about me, and yes, I _am_ troubled about something, but I don't have the heart to think about it right now since you're in pain too."

"That's just it," Po said, "I was hoping to come to you, asking if you could just hear me out and have a shoulder to cry on, blindly not considering how you might have been in pain too... I-"

"'I' what?" Tigress asked, cupping her friend's face so he would look up at her, her tears still fresh, "Po, neither of us were aware of the other's pain, and I'm sorry that you feel bad that our relationship is one-sided because of that... but we have right _now_."

Her face softened as his eyes grew wide.

"Now tell me... what's wrong?"

He looked away - he wanted this, but felt uncomfortable, given the circumstances. Then again, he couldn't hide it now - no hiding from Tigress.

"Ever since the funeral of Master Rhino and the victims of Shen," Po softly explained, slowly turning his gaze back to the tear-stained Tigress, "I've been thinking... about things I know I'll never have..."

Tigress looked confused, but Po continued to explain himself.

"Remember what I said before I passed out during the construction of the memorial?  
How I'll never know my mother...  
And how I have peace with _me_ , but not with what made it possible?"

Her eyes lit up in realization, but saw that his eyes were forming more tears.

"I never even knew them, Tigress... I... I..."

Now it all made sense, and no words were needed after that. Without hesitation, Tigress gave Po what he came for and hugged him, Po thoughtlessly hugging her back, with his paws around her waist and Tigress embracing him around his neck, allowing him to use her shoulders to cry on as she let her own tears leave her face.

It took a minute, but Tigress was able to breath in deeply before coming to the decision of telling Po why _she_ had been crying in the first place. After all, he _did_ feel bad not being there for her.

"I was thinking about how I nearly lost one of the only people I call a friend," Tigress said gently, Po knowing all too well what she was referring to, "I told you to stay behind because I knew your head wouldn't be in trying to stop Shen, but looking for your past. When you were shot by that canon, I thought you were dead... and... I thought that the feeling of despair would leave when I saw you again...

But I suppose I didn't even feel half the trauma.

Please, don't misunderstand, I'm incredibly happy that you're alive, and I wouldn't have it any other way, even to put myself in the way if it meant that you were going to be alright, but I didn't think that I accepted the reality of what might have been until I was alone, since I'm not even sure how I would take the idea of you being dead. I was going to let out the feeling of the trauma alone, but I don't think you're going to let me."

Exactly why she felt warmth in her chest from that, she wasn't sure, but she continued.

"Po... I have... a proposition," she said, lifting his head and lowering her own so their foreheads would touch, "Since we're both aware of the other's pain, how about we stop trying to find comfort in ourselves?"

"What do you mean?" Po asked, his voice much weaker than before, which worried Tigress, but she continued.

"I mean that instead of crying alone, whenever we need a shoulder to cry on, we go to each other," Tigress explained, "No matter what time of day and no matter the circumstances - our shoulders belong to each other whenever we need them."

She didn't need to have Po look at her. As she was making the proposition, Po had lifted his head off her shoulder to look at her to see if she really meant what she said, and to make sure he was hearing her correctly.

 _None_ of it was a joke - she _did_ mean it.

If it wasn't for the fur, his blush would have been painfully obvious, but it wasn't, but the surprise in his tired eyes were.

He looked down at Tigress' paw, which was extending its pinkie finger to him. Po remembered how he told Tigress about pinkie promises and why people did such a gesture because she saw him do the exact same thing with his dad sometime back. He also stressed to her the importance of it, even though it was silly in her eyes to confirm a promise that way, since a handshake or putting your word on it was enough. Maybe she was trying to make him fell better with a gesture she thought was silly, yet at the same time not joking about what had just left her lips just a few seconds ago.

"Promise?"

Her eyes were tired too, since she had been crying as well, but she still tried to smile, hopefully to make him feel better. A shrivel of happiness went through her as Po smiled and extended his own pinkie from the opposite hand that Tigress was sticking out, interlocking their pinkies to agree and confirm her proposition.

"Promise."

For a while, they stayed like that, both pinkies refusing to loosen their grip on the other, and two foreheads connecting once again, sinking in the covenant they just made with one another, and the peace that soon followed. However, the pain they promised to express to one another soon came after a gentle breeze went through the valley, Po being the first to express it through another sniffle. This time, however, Tigress released the pinkie hold and wrapped her arms around him, careful to not do any more damage than what had already been done, except it was around _his_ waist this time. Po, on the other hand, wrapped his much bigger, fluffier arms over her shoulders and around her neck, letting the first tears fall from his face as the sky began to sob as well.

As they held one another, the sky that was once peaceful and occasionally let a few drops fall let out a downpour. Because the wind wasn't picking up, the raindrops didn't fall in a harsh manner - there was just a lot of them.

Then again, it wasn't like Po and Tigress cared about the weather.

They had each other, and that's all that mattered.

From now on, they would _always_ have each other.

And that was a promise.

* * *

 **Artist's Comments**

So... about damn time, right?

I sure hope you had enough tissues for that, because that was a lot of hardcore feels... or at least I tried for this particular event.

There are also some confessions I wish to make.

#1. **The little scene where Tigress is crying - that was inspired by another piece altogether: called _Tears of the Sky_ by suzamuri**. I know that they really don't have much in common with one another, except the fact that Tigress is crying and Po is there, but with feels like that - I just couldn't pass that up, so thanks suzamuri for what you do.

#2. After I had written the scene, I had a song come to me that I now make a personal connection to this song with, especially with the scene after Tigress and Po make that pinkie-promise and cry in each others arms. **The name of the song is _I Promise_ , by Stacie Orrico.** I strongly recommend that you look the song up, but if you want to save the hassle of accidentally running into the wrong song, go to my Tumblr page (Moonspirit10 DeviantART). Look under Fanfiction Archive, and the name of the song should be right next to the title of the fiction.


	4. Comfort

Ever since then, and a cold as well as a scowling from Master Shifu from even deciding to stay out in the rain in the first place, they had kept to that promise.

If it be day or night, sun or rain, bitter cold or intense heat: even if they were angry at each other a few minutes ago, they had agreed to be there for one another, and that their shoulders were no longer their own, but belonged to the other involving the promise.

There was even one time where they had gotten so mad at one another, no one dared to be in the room. Yet, after all of the bruises and bleeding, they still lent their shoulders to the other to cry, which was a good thing since neither had to go far to apologize.

No one said anything about it, because they were afraid to (especially when the one they were afraid of the most was Tigress), but like metal having to go through the fire before the impurities can be beaten out with a hammer, so were the moments in Po and Tigress' relationship. They butted head sometimes, and even some cases left them broken or bleeding, but they were still there for one another in the end. How they did it was beyond them: heck, it was even beyond the comprehension of the panda and the tiger sometimes, but they still kept going at it because their promise was that important to them.

That pinkie promise seemed silly, but there was a lot of meaning behind it. No one understood that but them.

It was also that promise that didn't stop Po from getting up one night, primarily because of the nightmare he had. He tried to meditate about it, but that didn't work at all. For someone who had inner peace, he soon came to realize that it was going to need some work.

Until then, there was only one thing he knew he could do.

After all, it was that one thing that lead him to Tigress' door in the first place. He hesitated for a minute, but he pushed down all doubt as he let the promise pass through his thoughts.

 _"No matter what time of day and no matter the circumstances - our shoulders belong to each other whenever we need them."_

Nodding, he let a light sigh leave his lips before he lifted his paw to the paper door, only to have it open before he even touched it.

There, on the other side, gazing at him with her glowing sunset eyes, was Tigress - looking at him as if she were _expecting_ him.

He gave her a very weak, sheepish smile, as if an apology for disturbing her so late at night. Tigress only shook her head, smiled in understanding, and opened the door to let the panda in. After all, she really couldn't sleep either - she too had a nightmare of her own, but was mentally preparing herself to go to Po.

Apparently, he beat her to it.

As Po turned for a minute to close the door behind him, Tigress went to lay back down, except she _sat_ on her bed rather than actually laid down to rest. Then again, this wasn't about resting, and watched as Po carefully went over to her bed, sitting down for a minute to collect his thoughts.

This wasn't about collecting thoughts - Tigress knew why he was here, and placed her hand on his shoulder.

From the look he was giving the ground before he looked at her, it was obvious that he had a nightmare.

Without really saying it, she told him that she was here for him, so there was no need to hold anything back.

Po understood her silent message, and tears began to form, words becoming utterly useless as he embraced the tiger around her waist and buried his head into her shoulder.

Tigress, on the other hand, had hugged him the same moment he did, putting her cheek on top of his head as she listened to his sobs. Whatever nightmare it was, it must've been bad.

She didn't hold back her feelings either, and allowed herself the right to cry as the first tear came down her cheek, glancing over Po's body that was still shaking a little from the trauma of the nightmare.

Neither were really sure if this promise would do anything at first, but after the pain, the fights, and even the tears, they came to realize that not only was this the best thing, but it was what they needed.

They needed _this_ \- they needed _each other_.

No one really debated about who suffered the most in Gongmen City, but it was likely that Po and Tigress suffered the most, even after arriving home. While there was a monument for the master, Po and Tigress had a different monument, and one that kept haunting their dreams every night. If they had not confide in each other, perhaps these feelings wouldn't have been bearable.

No words were necessary either: it was that promise that brought about the best ointment that could possibly heal their scars, and that was the promised company of two friends, embracing and just letting it out.

In fact, in the funniest way (as Tigress let the another set of tears of her own go down her face as her eyes lightly passed over the spots on Po's body that were still scarred up physically and lightly painted with his scarlet blood), it was as if they had been trying to tell each other the entire time that they needed this embrace. What couldn't be said with words was best expressed in just giving each other the gift of time. It was this special embrace in one another that had become their soothing ointment for the scars many thought would heal on the account of victory.

It was all they could ever ask for because it was all _they_ wanted.  
It was all they _needed_.  
Maybe that _was_ enough of just the right ointment to sooth the scars of Gongmen City.

* * *

 **Artist's Comments**

I'm sorry guys, but that's it - well, at least for the moment.

Sometime after writing this piece, I had received a suggestion from Jakaynne, here on Fanfiction, about a potential chapter five.

 **The idea basically sums up to this - Tigress and Po get some time alone after the battle with Kai and Tigress has some weight on her heart she hasn't quite vented out yet, primarily of what he had to do to defeat Kai in the first place. Sticking to the promise, she eventually gets that time with Po, which is a very understanding time between them.**

To me, that sounds like a really good idea, perhaps a potential love scene, like in the process of giving each other their shoulders to cry on, their relationship development had come to the point where they had unintentionally given each other their hearts (and everything else) to each other. I am oddly reminded of the TiPo oneshot _The Dumbest Thing_ , by Joei Write, which might end up being the inspiration for the next potential scene.

I want to hear what you all have to think about Jakaynne's idea, and anything you think I should add to that if I were to add any more to this.

* * *

 **UPDATE: March 23, 2016**

Surprisingly, during my greatest hours of stress, I have another idea of my own for a potential chapter 5 for _Gongmen's Scars_.

Perhaps after this scene and pior to the idea above, I was thinking of something a little less dramatic, since I can't seem to get out of my head that Po having a broken rib was pushing it.

Anyway, I was thinking that they are on a random mission, and Po's taking the next shift to look out for trouble while everyone gets some shut-eye. Tigress, who can't really get any sleep, decides to silently keep a look out with Po, doing a similar scene in Inuyasha where Kagome has her chest against Inuyasha and they're both holding hands - man I wish I could remember the episode it was in, but I would know it when I see it.

Anyway, shoot me any thoughts over if you have some - I'm willing to extend this if I've got the ideas for it.

May God's love, grace, and mercy be with us all.


End file.
